Mathboy
by JolinarJackson
Summary: Chapter 2 now up: "You're smart, you learn fast … but we couldn't trust you, mathboy." Eli realized that he started to hate that name.
1. Chapter 1

**Mathboy**

_Snippet__: _Eli missed having someone he could talk to, unfortunately, he had nobody.

_Pairing:_ Eli/Chloe (not really), Chloe/Matt (hinted)_  
Rating:_ T_  
Spoiler: _Everything up until _Justice_, especially _Time_ – but all the spoilers are just telling about Eli's family and not really about the things that happen in the show itself._  
Setting:_ Season 1 -- early, I'd say directly after _Light_

_Author's notes__: _This one came to me while I was at work, doing everything but work. Half an hour later, I had written it down. Three hours later, I got home, read through it and gave it the finishing touches -- and here it is. The shortest piece of fanfiction I wrote in forever.

_Feedback:_ Can't breathe without it.

_Beta: _Thanks to HealingMirth for putting up with my grammar and for helping me to get Eli (and Rush) just right. To sheneya for reading through it again.

_Disclaimer:_ I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show _Stargate Universe_ and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended._  
_

***

***

What he missed most, except for his mother of course, were his computer games. He could spend hours with them, caught in front of the screen with a bag of chips and Coke until his mother dragged him back into reality.

Eli admitted that his life hadn't been perfect. He couldn't keep a job, had dropped out of MIT and hadn't had a girlfriend or real life friends he spent time with. There had only been him and his mother and the house in which they lived. His life had been his games, his gaming buddies and the peaceful nights in front of the television with his mom and the trips in a borrowed car to drive her to the doctor, work or the supermarket. It hadn't been much but it had been enough. Maybe he hadn't been happy but he hadn't craved more, either.

And now, everything was different because he'd managed to win a game that no one else could beat.

_Prometheus_ had been relatively new when Eli had started to play. It offered spaceships, aliens and mathematical puzzles, all things Eli liked. It had taken weeks but he'd done it.

If he'd known that the Air Force would stand in front of his door to mess with his life the next day, maybe he wouldn't have.

Maybe.

He turned the small button on the remote control and the KINO floated over to him, when he turned the button the other way, the small camera flew off and with a skillful touch of the control it floated exactly over Rush's head, capturing what the scientist was looking at for Eli.

Eli turned the music coming from the iPod up a notch. Chloe had lent hers to him, before she'd gone with Matt somewhere to do things which Eli didn't want to imagine.

"Another time, okay?" Chloe had asked impatiently, already looking at Matt who was waiting for her a few steps down the corridor, "We'll explore the lower levels tomorrow." She'd given him the iPod. "In case you get bored," she'd said as Matt had put an arm around her hips, guiding her away from Eli.

Eli let the KINO do a furious loop and then placed it directly next to Rush's ear. The scientist let loose a tortured sigh. "Would you mind terribly not doing that?"

Eli shut off the music and put the headphones on the floor beside his body. Then, he extended his legs in front of himself to find a more comfortable position. "I'm not doing anything."

"Besides grating on my nerves."

"You wanted me to come here," Eli answered.

Rush turned around to face him, hitting his head on the KINO, and grabbed the ball in his fist angrily. "That's where you're wrong, Colonel Young sent you here. I don't need help … and I certainly don't need your precious little toys."

He threw the KINO Eli's way, the young man caught the device and brushed over its surface with his index finger. "He doesn't mean it that way. Don't listen to him." The words were meant as a joke but Rush only crossed his arms and pulled up his shoulders, an impatient shimmer in his dark, tired eyes.

Eli got up and slid the remote control into his trouser pocket. "I'm just learning to fly them. They're useful."

"You're wasting your time, those things are toys and nothing more." He turned back to the controls. "Why did the colonel send down a damn child to help me?"

Eli didn't know whether Rush had spoken deliberately loud enough so that he heard him or whether he did it by mistake but he decided to answer him either way. Rush was demeaning him to a child pretty regularly now, and he was getting tired of it. "Because I can calculate a lot faster than you … and I'm able to create far more complex equations … and I'm not a child, I'm twenty-five, I studied at MIT."

"You dropped out," Rush answered with a laugh.

"Not because I wasn't qualified enough."

"No," Rush nodded, turning back around to face him, "but because you've got no discipline. Just like a child."

Eli narrowed his eyes. He wasn't the type of guy who would look for an argument.

"Nobody knows these controls as well as I do."

But every guy could reach his breaking point.

"Because you don't let anyone near it!" Eli yelled. "Really, what's your problem? You don't accept help, you're a real jerk -- to everyone --, you don't know the words 'please' or 'thanks' or -"

"I'm trying to save our lives. Maybe you've got the time to stray through the ship, to make jokes and to ridicule our situation. I can't spend my time sitting around to play with KINOs or to build flying boards."

"Hover boards," Eli said softly.

"What?" Rush asked.

Eli shrugged. "I call them hover boards. Like the ones in _Back to the Future_."

Rush was looking at him as if he'd grown a third head.

"And you call that being an adult, Eli?" He rubbed his forehead and brushed through his brown hair. "Listen, just go -- let me work." He turned away, concentrating on the controls.

Eli shoved the KINO in the pocket of his worn jacket and cleared his throat. "I'm not ridiculing our situation."

Rush just stood there and Eli swallowed. "I know how to take a situation seriously. I have since I was fourteen and I think you know that." He thought he saw Rush hang his head, but the angle was weird and he couldn't tell for sure. "It's not childish to know that an optimistic point of view can help. Or a distraction like the KINOs." He left the room with that and went down the corridor with quick steps. He was heading for the observation deck, but halfway there he reconsidered and turned back.

When he arrived in his quarters, he put the KINO down and dropped his body on his sleeping-bag. He stared at the ceiling and it occurred to him that he'd forgotten Chloe's iPod. He decided to fetch it later when he'd calmed down enough to see Rush again.

He turned on his side, grimacing when the remote control dug into his hip. He pulled it from his pocket and put it beside him, then he drew an arm under his head, staring at the door.

In the area in which the castaways were living, not all the doors could be opened or closed, yet. Eli's quarters were one of them where the door was opened permanently.

He sighed, missing his mother so bad it hurt. They argued whenever Eli cancelled a job interview or didn't apply for the jobs which she had marked red for him in the morning newspaper, but they had always had a good relationship, even more so since his father had walked away from them without telling them goodbye.

Eli missed having someone he could talk to, unfortunately, he had nobody. Although he met the soldiers, the colonel, Rush, Chloe and Wray everyday for a briefing ... although he spent time with the other scientists ... although he liked Chloe very much ... he had nobody to turn to.

Colonel Young, TJ and Matt were nice, but they kept their relationship professional. The other civilians didn't consider Eli part of their group, since he was much younger then them. There was also the fact that they seemed to consider him too close to Colonel Young. They denied him as one of them because the colonel showed him recognition for his work and because he asked for his advice if there were problems, sometimes even before he asked Dr. Rush for his opinion. And Chloe seemed to take their friendship for granted at the moment. Whenever Matt had no time for her, she came to Eli. And it hurt, primarily because Eli really liked Chloe, maybe even a bit more than he was supposed to.

Eli reached for the remote control and navigated the KINO over to him before he sat up, leaning against the wall. He switched on the video function. "It's me again. Eli Wallace. At the moment, everything's calm on _Destiny_ and we …"

"Eli."

Startled, he looked to the door and was surprised to see Rush. "Hi." He switched the KINO off, catching the falling device. Rush crossed his arms. He was silent. Eli waited for some seconds. "Did you want something?"

Rush entered, glancing at the door almost accusingly as if he wanted nothing more than to close it. Now, Eli was even more curious about what the scientist had to say.

"I wanted to -- I didn't want to bring up your mother that way."

Eli raised his eyebrows. Before he could answer, Rush held up a hand. "I know that you've been struggling since you were fourteen. I didn't want to imply that you can't relate to the serious situation we're handling."

"Okay," Eli said.

"I'm just -- frustrated," Rush continued, "I don't understand half of what _Destiny_ is. I'd like to explore the ship further, but Colonel Young is always assigning the soldiers for other tasks."

"Okay," Eli said, again. He didn't know how to react.

"Fact is," Rush said, "that I didn't tell you the truth about Colonel Young. He wanted me to choose an assistant, but he didn't recommend you. He wanted me to decide. I chose you."

Eli was surprised. "O … kay."

"Which shows that I think you're qualified," Rush nodded.

Then he was silent.

"Was that something like -- a 'I'm sorry'?" Eli asked.

"I cross lines," Rush answered, "I'm always getting impatient and frustrated and that results in me insulting people. That's me. I won't change that … or apologize for it."

Eli raised his eyebrows. "Okay."

Rush ducked his head for a second, as if he was embarrassed. "Could we just get back to work, now?"

Eli nodded slowly. "Fine." He got up and let the KINO float before he guided it out the door with the control.

When he crossed the threshold, Rush grabbed his arm. "Eli," he said softly, "our promise concerning your mother wasn't a lie. She's getting the best treatment. General O'Neill is looking out for her in person."

"HIV's incurable," Eli answered, keeping his eyes on the KINO.

Rush ducked his head. "Believe me, Eli, I know how you feel."

Eli met his eyes. He could tell that Rush said the truth. Before he could ask, the other man turned away and headed down the corridor. "Don't dawdle!" he called back.

Eli sighed, rolled his eyes and followed with a smile.

END

JJ 12/09


	2. Chapter 2

**Mathboy**

_Series:_ Destiny's Faces

_Companion Piece:_ Mathboy (you don't have to know it to understand this one)

_Word Count: _2.233

_Snippet: _"You're smart, you learn fast … but we couldn't trust you, mathboy." Eli realized that he started to hate that name.

_Characters: _Eli Wallace, Nicholas Rush

_Rating:_ PG_  
Spoiler: Time, Justice, Divided  
Setting:_ in between _Divided_ and _Faith__  
Author's Note:_ Written for the _Stargate Universe Challenge_ Community. I'm answering Prompt _#011 - Identity_. Inspired by the quote below. I thought it was

1.) a shame that Eli and Nick never talked about what happened (even though I'm still hoping for more scenes between those two)

2.) weird how Eli reacted to Amanda Perry calling him mathboy (in _Sabotage_).

3.) interesting that the mood on board changed after _Faith_. I tried to include part of those changes in this one shot but I'm not sure if I succeeded.

_Feedback:_ Can't breathe without it.

_Disclaimer: _I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show _Stargate Universe_ and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

"_Hey, mathboy! Got those calculations I was asking about?"-"Done. And … please don't call me that."_

_(Eli and Amanda Perry in Sabotage)_

He'd never had problems to sleep except once, when he'd been fourteen. When his father had left him and his mother, Eli Wallace had had trouble falling asleep for half a year. He'd been awake in his bed, listening to his mother trying to muffle her sobs. And he'd always wondered whether he should go downstairs and comfort her. But he'd never done it. He'd told himself that there was a reason for her to hide her tears. That she didn't want him to comfort her or to worry. She'd always smiled the next morning while preparing his breakfast and Eli hadn't had the courage to talk to her about it. He'd eaten, taken his school bag and pressed a kiss to her forehead, muttering "Love ya", before he'd left the house. She'd stopped crying sometime and Eli had had no trouble to fall asleep ever since.

Now, he wished that there would be such a simple reason for his insomnia. But while he was staring at the ceiling of his quarters on board _Destiny_, waiting for sleep to claim him, he realized that the reasons were anything but simple. Somebody passed by his room. Eli heard the heavy steps echoing in the corridor and suspected that one of the soldiers was making his rounds. Colonel Young had decided to guard the corridors. He'd said that it would be only for a couple of days until he could be sure that there wouldn't be a new mutiny or secret meetings. But Eli knew that Young's pride had taken a serious blow. Proving that he was in charge was his way to handle it.

Eli sighed and turned on his side. His quarters were almost dark, illuminated by the weak light of the kino station's screen. He breathed out, rubbed his tired eyes and then got up. He put his jacket on over his t-shirt and slipped into his shoes before he slid his radio into his jeans. Then he left his room. Perhaps, it would help to walk around. He was tired but his mind wasn't ready to let go, yet. If he reminded it of his body's need to sleep, then maybe it would give in.

He put his hands into his jacket pockets and headed for the observation deck. The sound of steps made him stop. He didn't want to be caught by one of the soldiers wanting him to explain what he was doing up so late. He felt silly, though, when he pressed against the metal to hide behind a thick pipe. He could see the intersection where the steps were coming from and was surprised when Nicholas Rush turned out to be the source. The scientist was walking with his eyes fixed on the notepad in his hand. Eli frowned. Apparently, he wasn't the only one suffering from insomnia. Carefully, he followed Rush back to his quarters.

For a moment, he stood in front of the closed door, not knowing what to do. They hadn't talked since Rush's operation. It wasn't Rush's fault alone, even though the scientist was ignoring Eli. But the young man was doing his best to avoid Rush also. And not only him. He hadn't felt that unsafe on board the ship for weeks. But the civilians trying to take _Destiny_ a few days ago had destroyed some of that security Eli was relying on. Rush and the other scientists - and Chloe, too - had excluded him from their plans and Colonel Young had won control back by fighting against people with no training. To make matters worse, Eli had been stuck in the middle, traded from one side to the other without being asked if that was okay with him.

So Eli preferred to be alone at the moment. He didn't even know why he'd followed Rush. He shook his head and turned away from the door. He was just leaving when it opened behind him and he turned back around to face Rush. The scientist was obviously surprised to see him. "Eli," he said. He looked around as if he was expecting Young or one of the soldiers behind Eli, then he looked at back at him. "Is there something you wanted?"

Insecure, Eli shook his head. Rush's eyes narrowed mistrustfully. "Then what are you doing here?"

"What were you doing outside your quarters?" Eli replied.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Eli pulled up his shoulders and brushed the back of his hand over his forehead.

"I was fixing the heating system on the observation deck. Colonel Young told me to, by the way. Just in case you want to know."

"No," Eli answered softly, "Not really."

Rush left his room and the door hissed closed. "Have a good night, then." He headed back towards the control room.

"Actually," Eli said and Rush stopped. Eli didn't know how to end the sentence. "Actually," he started anew, "I'd like to … could we … talk for a minute?"

Rush narrowed his eyes and walked towards Eli slowly. "What about?"

Eli swallowed. "I … don't know."

"You don't know? You came to me to talk at three in the morning - and you don't know what about?" Whenever Rush was looking at him that way, Eli felt like the most incompetent person on the whole ship. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Rush was still staring at him searchingly.

"The mutiny."

"Yes?" Rush asked.

"Why?" Eli asked. His throat felt tight and he swallowed. Rush frowned. Abruptly, he opened the door to his quarters and entered. After an inviting look in Eli's direction the young man followed him hesitantly. The door closed and Rush threw his memo pad on the bedding before he leaned against the wall under the window and crossed his arms. When he grimaced in pain a second later and instead opted to shove his hands into his jeans pockets, Eli asked, "Are you still in pain?"

Rush laughed bitterly. "The operation wasn't done that expertly."

Eli thought that he was being unfair. "TJ did what she could. Nobody could have known beforehand that the contact to Dr. Brightman was unstable."

"I'm not blaming Lt. Johansen, Eli."

Eli ducked his head. Rush waited. When Eli didn't say anything, he sighed, "I have work to do. You wanted to talk to me. Do it."

Eli took a calming breath. "You shouldn't have started the mutiny."

Rush snorted. "I think Colonel Young needed to know what we're thinking about him being in command."

"That's not why you were doing it," Eli shook his head, "You just wanted to be in charge yourself. That's what you wanted from the moment we arrived here."

Rush shrugged. His indifference caused Eli's anger to bubble to the surface. "You're to blame for what happened between you and Young. You tried to frame him for Spencer's murder because you wanted to study that chair. You betrayed him."

Now, Rush's temper got the better of him. "Are you telling me that Young did the right thing when he left me behind on a planet to die?" His eyes betrayed his hurt when he added, "And you did everything in your might to help him cover it up."

Eli took a shocked step backwards. Rush came towards him and put his hands in his hips. "You knew bloody well what had happened but you decided to be one of Young's good little soldiers instead of doing the right thing."

"What?" Eli asked. He shook his head.

"What did you do while I was gone?"

Eli crossed his arms. He glared at Rush. "I did what I had to do, okay?"

"You did what Young told you to do."

"So? What was the alternative? To start a mutiny?"

"You should have told everyone that he tried to kill me, Eli."

"You aren't exactly chatty about it, either."

Rush took a step back. He rubbed his chin. "The colonel and I ..."

But Eli wasn't done, yet, and interrupted him. "What was I supposed to do, Rush? It was my word against the colonel's. What do you think who they would have believed?" He nodded. "I'll tell you: The experienced colonel of the Air Force who's trying to get us home. I had nothing to prove it, okay? Just kino footage showing you going into Spencer's quarters to get the gun. Footage I had to delete, by the way, because Young wanted me to. Footage, only he and I know about because I never showed it to anyone else." Eli brushed a hand through his hair. "You're blaming me for being on Young's side but you aren't exactly shy about showing me that you don't want me on yours. You started a damn mutiny all the civilians knew about … except me."

Rush raised his eyebrows. "I couldn't be sure-"

"Right," Eli answered, "_'Let's just not tell Eli. Let's do a trade later. They'll give him to us for water, you'll see. A cheap price to pay.'_ Lucky for you that Young thought so, too." Eli turned away and closed his eyes, beaten. He hadn't wanted to say all this but he was tired and hurt and he hadn't really talked to anyone for days because he didn't know who he could turn to. Even Chloe had used him. And that hurt more than Eli was willing to admit.

"Are you done?" Rush asked softly. When Eli didn't answer, he seemed to take that as a yes and said, "We couldn't tell you, Eli, because we didn't trust you."

Eli turned around to face him. It was one thing to suspect something like that but he would never have expected it to hurt so much more to have his suspicion confirmed.

Rush's eyes were much more gentle than his words and now, a smile touched his lips. "And you can't blame us. But we thought about telling you." He laughed without humour. "You did manage to slow the data transfer down."

"That wasn't me. Everyone trying to stop the transfer-"

"Not everyone," Rush answered with a shrug, "Volker wouldn't have managed it. Maybe Brody or Park. But not as fast as you." He laughed bitterly. "Well, you're living up to your name, mathboy," he said with a hint of mockery, "As Chloe once said: If somebody can do it, you can."

Eli frowned in confusion, then he recalled the conversation in the officer's mess on _Icarus_. It had been three months since that evening. It felt like forever. Rush hadn't taken part in the meal. He had to have listened by accident.

"You're smart, you learn fast … but we couldn't trust you, mathboy."

Eli realized that he started to hate that name. He wasn't the boy he'd been when he'd invented the name to make a joke. Three months could change a person. "Don't call me that."

Rush shrugged and Eli turned away to leave.

"Eli."

He stopped and looked back to Rush. The man had his arms crossed now. Apparently, pain couldn't break that particular habit. "I missed you in the control room these last few days. I asked Colonel Young and he told me that he didn't assign you any other duties so … why haven't you been there?"

Eli shrugged and ducked his head. "You seem to do just fine with Brody and Park."

Rush nodded slowly. He came towards Eli. "You know that I need your help."

"You don't trust me," Eli replied coldly and Rush sighed.

"You stuck your hand into an open wormhole when I told you to. You didn't even hesitate for a minute. You calculated the correct course to help Lt. Scott land the shuttle. I didn't look at the numbers because I knew that you were right."

Eli nodded slowly. "A great team," he said softly.

"Yes," Rush nodded, "We were, before ..." He sighed and shook his head. Eli knew what he wanted to say. Before being in the right camp became the most important thing. In hindsight, it what was so ridiculous because there were enemies out there trying to kill them all. It seemed as if Rush had read his thoughts because he said, "The colonel promised me to order the soldiers to make an effort. He'll stop the nightly rounds tomorrow. I told the civilians to cooperate with the soldiers. The colonel and I decided to change a few things. Those aliens are out to get us and we can't waste energy fighting each other."

Eli frowned. "When did that happen?"

Rush grimaced. "We had a talk. It was … necessary."

Eli couldn't help but smile. Rush answered with a small grin. "The both of us … we can learn to trust each other like we did before. Like the civilians and the soldiers," he said.

Eli nodded. "Give it time," he answered.

Rush's hand on his shoulder was warm. Just like his smile. "Give it time."

END

05/10


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